The Ancient Nine
by Chaos formerly Rini
Summary: Some say there were three. Others claim there were nine. If there were indeed nine, and all lived in today's world, what would the ancient Muses be like? This is what I think their stories would tell. (Narrator: Clio). Hiatus forever?
1. Prologue

A/N: Alright, this is the "prologue" of sorts for what, in the end, will be a nine part story (not including this). This story is about the Muses, and what the ancient people would be like in modern times. The beginning is told from Clio's perspective, and it is she that tells all the stories. I'm about one-third of the way through the first short story, which is Terpsichore's. If all goes well, it may be up in a week.

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The tales of my sisters and I are well known. What isn't so well known is that we relive our lives over and over and over again, and never know that we do. It takes us until far too late in our lives to realize how profoundly we affect the world. As the Muse of history, it is my job to record all happenings in the past and present, and spread my knowledge. Here are the stories of my eight sisters and I, in our most recent lives.


	2. Terpsichore: Section 1

A/N: This is the first three pages of Terpsichore's story. This fic will have more than ten chapters, but there will be the prologue and nine stories. Sorry if I confused anyone by that! Basically, I'll post each Muse's story bit by bit, probably three or four pages each. I want people to tear this apart, and let me know what's good about it and what really bothered you about it.

Terpsichore

My sister, Terpsichore, is the Muse of dance, since she is so shy. It is easier for her to silently perform than sing or teach as the rest of us muses do. Her life wasn't too interesting until one day in the early autumn, the time she was a tap dancer in New York City. 

The college students packed up their bags after a grueling dance class, all of them chattering happily. All but one. The teacher glanced up and called to a girl who was preparing to leave the room, barely acknowledging the other people and their conversations. "Rhianna Terpsichore, I'd like to speak with you for a moment." 

The twenty-year-old's violet eyes widened, and she headed over to the instructor after pulling on her baggy pants. "What did you want?" she uttered quietly. 

"I have a class, for children about ten and eleven years old, that I wanted you to teach. You're the best here, and I think that you'd be a bit better with kids than me." 

"I couldn't do that!" Rhianna gasped, tucking her reddish brown hair behind her ear. 

"Why not? I think you'd be awesome." 

"I can't even talk to most of the people in the class, let alone people I've never met before," she reminded her teacher in a small voice. 

Rhianna slung her bag over her shoulder and softly crossed the threshold into the bustling street outside as her teacher replied, "I could help you get past that." 

The cool, late summer air played across Rhianna's lowered face as she headed back to her apartment. It was a short walk on the crowded New York street to the castle-type building that housed numerous apartments. It had taken Rhianna a year of pestering to be placed in the room she currently inhabited, which she remembered smilingly as she unlocked the door. 

It was nice not to have to run up and down the stairs constantly, being on the ground level. She glanced out the sliding glass doors that lead into the courtyard, and veered from her course towards the kitchen to stop and grab a sweatshirt and homework from her bedroom before proceeding outside and situating herself on a dry edge of the fountain. 

Rhianna didn't accomplish much work, as she was fretting about whether she'd upset her teacher or not. When she got into these moods, the only thing that could comfort her was to dance. 

"Cramp roll... syncopated time step... soft shoeing..." She muttered steps quietly as she ran through a routine she had created. As she completed whirling around in a frenzy of turning cramp rolls, she realized she was being watched. The boy quickly crossed the courtyard, cutting her off before she reached her flat. 

"That was amazing," he stated, forcing her to look at his crystal blue eyes. "Would you teach me how to dance like that?" 

"No," she responded in a very high-pitched, nervous voice. She ducked around him and proceeded to open her door. 

"Why not?" He appeared to be very confused by her abrupt manner. 

The simple, "I can't," was punctuated by the door being closed and the curtains drawn sharply across. 

As she leaned back against the door, Rhianna sighed wistfully. "I wish I wasn't so shy! He just wanted me to teach him how to dance, to get to know me better. Why can't I just be a damn people person? Is there anything hard about that? Apparently there is for me." This had been building up on her for a while now. Frowning unhappily as she quickly completed her school work, Rhianna soon retired to her bed. 

The boy had remained standing in shock for a few moments before racing back to his flat. _I don't know what came over me_, he thought, mentally berating himself for being too forward with the girl. _You just moved here a few days ago. You should've properly introduced yourself_, he informed his over-eager half. 

A thought struck him like a thunderbolt from Zeus himself, and the boy briskly trotted back out into the courtyard. 

The next morning, Rhianna stumbled across a bouquet of flowers laying in front of her door. The note attached read: 

__

So sorry that I didn't introduce myself properly. My name's Darren Achelous, apartment number twenty-three. I hope to see you around again, and that you will change your mind about teaching me.

Smiling, she returned to her kitchen for a moment to quickly throw the flowers into a vase. They were the kind that grew in the courtyard. _Now I know he's really a big spender_, she thought amusedly. 


End file.
